MFL

MFL

In Year7 students at The Gryphon School study French and Spanish. You will learn how to listen, speak, read and write in both languages. You will also learn about the way of life in France and Spain and in French and Spanish speaking countries. During the year you will cover topics such as greetings, names, present tense verbs, zoo animals, descriptions, places in town, positive and negatives opinions and sports / activities that you like to do.

In Year 8 students can choose to become a dual linguist and study French and Spanish or Spanish and German or they can opt to study a single language; either French or Spanish. You may have the opportunity to visit one of these countries during the year.

The topics covered during this year will be:

French:

Talking about yourself and others, describing your relationship with your family, describing the weather, talking about the past, talking about media – cinema, films and music – in France, food, inviting people out and responding to invitations, clothes, fashion and shopping and planning holidays to France or a French speaking country.

Spanish:

Talking about different towns and cities and future trips to a Spanish town or city, talking about how you spend your free time, comparing it to the past and discussing how young people use technology and social media in their free time, food – including Spanish foods and recipes and healthy eating.

German:

Introducing yourself and others, describing your family and their personalities, giving your opinions on school, looking at school in German speaking countries, talking about your hobbies and those of others, giving your opinion on where you live, what you do and have done in your local area, looking at German speaking countries and what there is to do on holiday there.

In Year 9 students continue with the choice made in year 8.

The topics covered during this year will be:

French:

Illnesses and remedies, healthy living – diet and keeping fit; social media, future jobs, describing what the world we live in will be like in the future, French media and young people’s views and concerns about the wider world – poverty, homelessness and religion in France.

German:

House and bedroom, food and drink in German speaking countries, healthy eating and keeping fit, fashion now and in the past, what you plan to wear to future events, holidays you have been on and dream holidays, festivals and traditions in German speaking countries.

Spanish:

Clothes and fashion in Spanish speaking countries, different Spanish festivals – discussing what happens at the them and talking about past visits to them, talking about media – cinema, films and music – in Spain, illnesses and injuries, lifestyle problems and how to keep fit and lead a healthy lifestyle.

KS4

What you will be studying

You may continue with the language you chose to study in Year 9 – French, Spanish or German, and you can take two languages if you choose.

You will study topics such as my family and friends, technology in everyday life, free-time activities, customs and festival of the country you are studying, local, national, social and global issues such as voluntary work, the environment and tourism and finally your current and future study as well as your ambitions for life after school.

You will have a chance to revise the grammar, structures and vocabulary you have met already but you will also learn new topics and grammatical constructions and an emphasis is made on truly discovering what life is like in either France, Germany or Spain. Everyone will practice Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing.

How you will learn

Learning is easier and more fun if you are doing, so you will be expected to take an active part in the work (and the games!). That could involve listening to your teacher, classmates or a recording, reading authentic material such as menus and brochures, speaking with a partner, native speaker or performing sock puppet shows, writing in a range of contexts and developing translation techniques.

How you will be assessed

Your progress will be monitored in the form of classwork, homework and tests. However GCSE assessment is in the form of a final examination at the end of Year 11 for all skills; listening, reading, writing and speaking. Each exam is weighted equally (25%). The exam board is AQA.